Summer 2014 - the Barnegat Bay Partnership

the
BARNEGAT BAY BEAT
A Publication of the Barnegat Bay Partnership • Summer 2014
BBP Continues Study of Fish Ladders
for Herring Passage
Field technicians Tina Barreiro and Joanna Marino measuring water velocity
at the fish ladder. Photo by BBP Staff.
RESEARCH
T
he Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) has just completed its second year of studies into the migratory
pattern of river herrings (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus,
and blueback, Alosa crestivalis) at Lake Shenandoah
on the Metedeconk River in Lakewood. Herrings are
“anadromous” fishes that live their adult lives in the ocean,
but swim upstream into rivers to spawn (release their eggs).
In the spring of each year, herrings return to the Barnegat
Bay and head up the freshwater rivers of the watershed.
As development occurs within the watershed, dams
and road crossings form barriers to the passage of herring populations to their upstream spawning grounds. To
help the herrings get above barriers (like the dam at Lake
Shenandoah), one possible solution is the installation of a
fish ladder. The fish ladder at Lake Shenandoah is one of
the oldest in New Jersey, and BBP researchers would like to
know how efficient it is at getting herrings around the dam.
Fish ladders do not come with a sign for fish that says,
“Swim here!” Instead, the ladder design must incorporate
clues for the herrings to follow. If a fish ladder is designed
poorly, the herrings don’t know where to go and get stuck
at the bottom of the dam.
To study the Lake Shenandoah fish ladder, BBP researchers are catching herrings
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ON E O F 28 N A T I O N A L ES T UA R Y P R O GR AMS ADMI NI STERED BY
THE U N ITE D S T A T ES EN VI R O N M EN T A L P R OTECTI ON AGENCY .
bbp.ocean.edu
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  2 
FISH LADDERS continued from page 1
along the Metedeconk River and inserting
PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags
into them. PIT tags are the same technology
used when pets and farm animals are “microchipped” to help find lost animals, or to keep
individual records for livestock. Once a PIT
tag has been inserted into a fish, hand-held or
stationary antennas can pick up the individual
number of the tag.
If a fish ladder is designed poorly,
the herrings don’t know where to
go and get stuck at the
bottom of the dam.
The BBP has set up antennas at the top and
the bottom of the fish ladder, similar to an
EZ-Pass on a highway. When a fish swims up
the ladder, the antennas will read the tag and
provide valuable information, such as whether
the fish swam up the ladder or just swam into
the ladder entrance; whether the fish made
it up to the top of the dam; and how long it
took to reach the top. This information can
be combined with other information, such as
the size and health of the tagged fish, rate of
water flow through the fish ladder, or even
water temperature.
BBP researchers tagged nearly 140 herrings
in 2013 and 200 in 2014, and have just started
to look at the data collected by the antennas.
One exciting finding was that several herrings tagged in 2013 returned to the Lake
Shenandoah dam this year, which is quite
remarkable, given that herrings are a favorite
snack of striped bass and other predatory fish!
Through this project, the BBP hopes to gain
a better understanding of the effectiveness
of the fish ladder at Lake Shenandoah and
at other locations with similar ladders, such
as Lake Carasaljo, further upstream on the
Metedeconk River. 
Program Scientist Jim Vasslides capturing
herring at the bottom of the Lake
Shenandoah dam. Photo by BBP Staff.
Summer 2014
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  3 
Summer 2014
RESEARCH
Meet Erin – BBP’s New
Field and Lab Coordinator
Erin Reilly at work. Photo by BBP staff.
T
he BBP is pleased to welcome Erin Reilly to our
staff. As our new Field and Lab Coordinator, Erin
will be assisting with various field and laboratory projects,
including water quality monitoring/testing and wetlands,
jellyfish, and fisheries monitoring and assessment. Her
duties will include data entry, data compilation, report
preparation, and maintenance of field and lab equipment.
Erin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine
Science and Biology from the University of Miami and
joint Master of Science degrees – one in Integrated Science
and Technology from James Madison University and the
other in Sustainable Environmental Resource Management from the University of Malta. Her Master’s thesis
applied marine spatial planning to the island of Malta.
Erin explains, “Marine spatial planning involves bringing
together stakeholders with sometimes competing interests,
such as commercial shipping and aquaculture, and creating
an overall plan for multiple uses of the marine environment.”
Erin brings a diverse range of research and other experi-
ences to her new job. As a Research Technician for the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science, she assisted with fish
and shellfish research and restoration projects. As owner
of Reilly Environmental Consulting LLC, she consulted
on short-term projects specializing in community and
stakeholder outreach, marine spatial planning, habitat
restoration, and oyster ecology.
Welcome aboard, Erin! 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  4 
Summer 2014
RESEARCH
Stockton Fisheries Science students collect data from the retrieved traps.
Photo by Richard Stockton College of NJ.
C
Ghost Pots in Barnegat Bay
ommercial and recreational crabbers rely on the
locations of ghost crab traps via side-scan sonar surveys,
Barnegat Bay and other New Jersey estuaries to
2) remove and dispose of the mapped ghost pots with the
either make a living or catch some dinner. Both mainly
help of commercial crabbers, and 3) educate recreational
use Chesapeake-style commercial crab traps to collect
crabbers and boaters about how to prevent the loss of pots.
their harvest. Boat traffic, incorrectly set gear, vandalism,
The area of the bay surveyed for ghost pots extended from
shifting tides, and storms can unforStouts Creek (north) to Cedar
Ghost pots: lost or abandoned
tunately result in lost or damaged
Run (south). Roughly 319 pots
traps. Called “ghost pots,” the lost crab traps and other gear that can were identified through side-scan
kill the crabs and fishes that
traps continue to fish, accumulating
imaging and plotted on ghost pot
blue crabs, fishes, and other species
get caught in them.
density maps for use during the
(such as diamondback terrapins)
removal process, which had to
that often die inside the unrecovered pots. Ghost pots can
be completed during the off-crabbing season that typically
also become a navigational hazard in the shallow waters of
extends from November to March. Although the pot removal
the Barnegat Bay.
was delayed due to the after-effects of Superstorm Sandy, a
In November of 2012, the Barnegat Bay Partnership
(BBP) awarded a grant to Drs. Mark Sullivan, Peter Straub,
and Steve Evert from The Richard Stockton College of
New Jersey and Melanie Reding of the Jacques Cousteau
National Estuarine Research Reserve ( JCNERR) to study
the extent of the problem in one area of the Barnegat
Bay. The study objectives were to 1) identify and map the
Stockton recovery team, with the assistance of commercial
crabber Joe Rizzo, managed to remove 50 pots during a
two-week period in late March 2013.
With the help of undergraduate students from Stockton’s
Fisheries Science and Management course, the retrieved pots
were then examined and additional data collected. Most of
the recovered pots (81%)
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The Barnegat Bay Partnership  5 
Summer 2014
GHOST POTS continued from page 4
...the hope [is] that others will
appeared to be recreational, pointing to the
find ways to pilot such projects in
need for educating recreational crabbers on
their own smaller bay systems.
best practices to help them avoid pot loss.
Brochures targeted at recreational crabbers
and boaters were created for distribution at local marinas, partner organizations,
and festivals, such the BBP’s Barnegat Bay Festival. A recreational crabber
brochure focuses on how to properly rig a commercial-style pot to help reduce
loss, while a brochure for boaters focuses on preventing lost pots by avoiding buoy
lines. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is helping with education and outreach
by sharing the brochures and discussing ghost pots in their various programs.
In the future, a new website, www.WeCrabNJ.org, will have downloadable
copies of the brochures, as well as additional information on ghost pots, the
removal project, and how to purchase a “Rig-It-Right” kit, which contains all
the pieces needed to correctly rig a recreational pot.
Given the successful nature of the ghost crab pot removal project, Stockton
College and JCNERR are continuing to look for ways to expand the work
throughout New Jersey and other states, with the hope that others will find ways
to pilot such projects in their own smaller bay systems. 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  6 
Summer 2014
MEMORIES OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL HERO
Photo by Lisa Auermuller.
Paul D. “Pete” McLain
By Lisa Auermuller (Jacques Cousteau National
Estuarine Research Reserve) and Pat Korotky
(Ocean County Parks and Recreation)
I
n June 2014, the Barnegat Bay lost perhaps its greatest
wildlife champion and environmental protector, Paul D.
“Pete” McLain. Pete worked in the field of environmental
protection for more than 50 years. He began his career with
the New Jersey Department of Fish, Game and Wildlife,
retiring after 36 years from the position of Deputy Director. As Deputy Director, he was responsible for wildlife
research, land management, planning, public information
and education, and land acquisition in southern New Jersey.
In this capacity, he developed New Jersey’s Endangered
and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), the first in the
nation and a model for those to follow. Working with Dr.
Tom Cade of Cornell University, Pete was directly involved
in the reintroduction of the peregrine falcon to New Jersey
at a time when the species had disappeared east of the Mississippi from the effects of DDT use. The ENSP also helped
re-establish populations of osprey and bald eagle, two other
top predator species endangered by DDT use. Pete provided
management as well as hands-on work in building nesting
towers and in population monitoring. Today in New Jersey,
there are over 25 breeding
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The Barnegat Bay Partnership  7 
Summer 2014
MEMORIES continued from page 6
pairs of peregrine falcons, approximately 150 breeding pairs of bald eagles, and more than 500 pairs of
breeding osprey.
Pete was a pioneer in negotiating funding partnerships with federal, state, and private sources for land
preservation. He was responsible for the acquisition
of more than 18,000 acres for wildlife management
and recreation from Delaware Bay to Barnegat Bay.
These areas include Great Bay Boulevard Meadows,
Sedge Island in Barnegat Bay, Hither Island complex
in Little Egg Harbor Bay, Higbee Beach at Cape
May Point, Island Beach, and additional parcels.
Pete understood the importance of reaching out
to the public about wildlife issues, and he expertly
conveyed his message of environmental conservation through a variety of media. He wrote numerous articles for New Jersey Outdoors, Field and
Stream, and Outdoor Life. His weekly column, “The
View Outdoors,” appeared in the Asbury Park Press for
over 30 years, and he was a regular contributor to radio
station WOBM on outdoor subjects. He was also an
award-winning filmmaker, producer, and photographer
of outdoor movies and videos for New Jersey Network.
Pete fishing at Island Beach State Park.
Photo courtesy of the McClain family.
Pete understood the importance of
reaching out to the public about wildlife
issues, and he expertly conveyed his
message of environmental conservation
through a variety of media.
Love of Barnegat Bay dominated Pete’s interests
even in his retirement. He continued his work with
osprey, studied the plight (and blight) of eelgrass beds,
co-founded the Emily deCamp Herbarium, and advised the interpretive program at
Island Beach State Park. Pete originated Ocean County’s pump-out boat program
on Barnegat Bay, winner of a 2011 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award.
Beginning with one boat in 1998, the program now has six boats that help keep the bay
clean by removing sewage from boaters’ holding tanks. Pete was also the founder and
past chairman of the Barnegat Bay Student Grant Committee, which funds student
research on the Barnegat Bay.
Over the years, Pete received a number of awards for his conservation achievements,
including Guardian of Barnegat Bay from the Barnegat Bay Partnership, Environmental
Hero from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Lifetime Environmentalist from the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife, and Environmental Quality
Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, the Sedge Island
Natural Resource Education Center’s house was named in Pete’s honor.
Pete will always be remembered as an environmental hero who pioneered innovative
ways to conserve and protect the precious natural resources of the Barnegat Bay. We’ll
miss you, Pete! 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  8 
Summer 2014
CITIZEN SCIENCE
Invasive Species – There’s an App for That!
I
f you have a smartphone and spend time outdoors, the
New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team (NJISST)
would like your help. The Strike Team works to stop the
spread of invasive species – plants, animals, and other organisms that are not native to New Jersey and are likely to cause
environmental or economic harm.
Thanks to a Conservation Innovation Grant from the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
the NJISST has developed New Jersey Invasives, an app that
enables people with smartphones to learn about, identify,
and report invasive species. The app eliminates the need
for cumbersome printed field guides, clipboards, and
global positioning system (GPS) devices. App users who
see something they suspect may be an invasive species can
scroll through pictures for identification, then take a photo
and submit it along with some basic information – it’s that
simple! NJISST experts verify each sighting and add the
information to an on-line database used to track the spread
of problem species in New Jersey and a national database
used to track invasive species distribution across the United
States.
Greg Westfall, NRCS Resource Conservationist, says,
“People who download and use the app can help the Strike
Team cover more ground by looking for invasive species
– whether they are farmers working in their fields, fishermen out along the state’s streams and rivers, or gardeners
tending their cultivated landscapes. It really is a great tool to
improve our efforts to detect and map invasive species.” He
adds, “With everyone’s help, we’ll get a much more accurate
picture of invasive species infestations across the state.”
According to Susan Brookman, the Strike Team’s Executive Director, detecting invasive species early is the key to
successful control. “If we can catch an invasive species soon
after it arrives, we have a chance to nip it in the bud and
keep it from establishing a viable population in New Jersey.
It’s easy to see the damage done by widespread invasive
species, like Dutch elm disease, the European gypsy moth,
and Japanese knotweed. It makes a lot of sense to spend a
little effort figuring out which non-native species have the
Laurel and Charlie Gould using the new Invasive Species
app. Photo courtesy of NJ Invasive Species Strike Team.
potential to wreak havoc and then spend a little more effort
to eradicate them. The alternative – letting them spread and
then dealing with their impacts – costs so much, both to
our pocketbooks and to our state’s agricultural and natural
heritage.”
Android or iPhone users can download the free New
Jersey Invasives app through iTunes or Google Play, or via
a link on the Strike Team’s web site at www.njisst.org. The
NJISST is offering free trainings for new users of the app.
Visit the NJISST website for training dates and other great
resources – invasive species fact sheets, a Do NOT Plant List,
and eradication information. 
 9 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership CITIZEN SCIENCE
Summer 2014
Report Oil Spills and More
with New Marine Defenders App
A
newly expanded iPhone app, Marine Defenders, will enable citizens to
report not only oil spills and marine debris, but also biological events
of concern in coastal waters. The American Littoral Society funded additions
to the app, originally developed for reporting oil spills, to allow reporting on
a broader range of incidents in coastal waters, including algal blooms, jellyfish
occurrences, fish kills, and endangered injured wildlife. Helen Henderson, Atlantic Coast Program Manager for the Littoral Society,
said, “Our bays and coastal waters are facing a multitude of threats. We are
putting this tool into the hands of thousands of people who will be our eyes
on the water, helping to protect and restore our bays and coast. Oil spills, algal
blooms, and fish kills need to be identified quickly and responded to. This tool
will empower the public to both identify the problems and be part of seeking
a solution.”
Using the Marine Defenders app.
Photo courtesy of The Associated
Press.
Individuals can download the app for free on the iPhone App Store or the
Marine Defenders website (www.marinedefenders.com). With a GPS-enabled
iPhone, anyone can pinpoint the exact location of an incident, complete an
easy-to-use form, take a photo, and submit the report with the click of a button. When the app is used to report an oil spill, instructions are provided for
contacting the National Response Center, which then notifies the United
States Coast Guard. Individuals observing other incidents, such as algal blooms, fish kills, and
injured wildlife, should report them to the appropriate local officials or agencies,
or by calling the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s tollfree 24-hour hotline, 1-877-WARN-DEP (1-877-927-6337). The American
Littoral Society and State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College
will be working together to compile the data about biological incidents from the
citizen reports submitted through the app. All reports are available for public
viewing, but personal information is not displayed to the public.
First released in July 2012, the Marine Defenders app was developed by
Common Goods Productions for SUNY Maritime College with a grant from
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. It is one part of a larger Marine
Defenders educational program designed to reduce chronic oil pollution from
marine vessels in coastal waters of New Jersey and New York. The Marine
Defenders website also provides information about criminal fines for polluters
and publicizes the little known fact that citizen scientists reporting oil pollution
violations may receive a reward of up to fifty percent of any fine levied.
Expansion of the app for use on other operating systems, such as androidbased mobile devices, will be made available in the future. 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  10  Pump It, Don’t Dump It!
Summer 2014
New Ocean County pump-out boat,
the Bay Defender. Photo courtesy of
Ocean County Planning Department.
Sixth Pump-Out Boat Added to Ocean County Fleet
O
cean County has added a new pump-out boat to
its fleet this boating season. The new boat, the “Bay
Defender,” will be operated by the Township of Brick in
the northern portion of Barnegat Bay, a popular boating
area with increasing pump-out service needs.
Ocean County’s pump-out boats are specially-equipped
vessels capable of emptying the on-board toilets and holding tanks of other boats, thus preventing human waste from
entering the bay. In 2003, the Barnegat Bay was designated
a “No Discharge Zone” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which means it is illegal to dump any effluent
there.
Since Ocean County began its pump-out boat program
in 1998 to improve the environmental health of the bay,
over 1 million gallons of boat wastewater have been
removed and properly treated. Bacterial pollution of the bay
has been significantly reduced as a result of this program.
The Bay Defender, a 23-foot boat with a 420-gallon
holding tank, joins the “Bay Saver” in patrolling northern
Barnegat Bay. In past years, the Bay Saver has pumped
about 30% of the total wastewater removed by the fleet
of pump-out boats. The addition of the Bay Defender
will increase the capacity of the program to service the
needs of boaters in this busy part of the bay. Two other
county pump-out boats operate in central Barnegat Bay
and another two in Little Egg Harbor.
The Ocean County pump-out boats operate Friday to
Monday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and holidays from Memorial
Day weekend through the end of September. They can be
contacted for service on Marine VHF Radio Channel 9.
The county and the Ocean County Utilities Authority split
the costs of operating the pump-out boats, resulting in a
FREE pump-out service is for boaters.
The New Jersey Clean Vessel Act (CVA) program provided the funding for the purchase of the new pump-out
boat. The CVA program also funds the installation and
maintenance of land-based pump-out stations at marinas.
Visit the CVA program’s website at http://njboating.org
for an interactive map of the locations of pump-out facilities and boat ramps in New Jersey. 
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  11  Summer 2014
Sandy Debris Removal Underway at Forsythe National
Wildlife Refuge
T
he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed the
initial phase of a multimillion-dollar debris cleanup
at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The
completed area, which is in Brick Township, contained
some of the greatest concentrations of debris resulting from
2012’s Superstorm Sandy.
Contractors extracted more than 250 tons of debris from
coastal marshes in Brick in an operation that was primarily water-based. Floating cranes and barges were used to
reach isolated areas not accessible by land. So far, most of
the removed debris has been non-hazardous, but some
hazardous and other household chemicals have been found
and separated out for proper disposal.
“We’re thrilled the work in Brick is complete,” said
Virginia Rettig, Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Manager. “The work to clean up the refuge has been tedious, as all
debris must be hand-picked. The crews have been working
very hard and are dedicated to cleaning up the refuge.”
Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Project Coordinator for the
Barnegat Bay Partnership, commented on the value of the
debris removal operation. “Areas of coastal marsh covered in
debris can see a loss of vegetation due to smothering. Any loss
of coastal marsh is of great concern, since wetlands are critical
for both ecosystem functioning and human health. Healthy
wetlands protect inland areas from flooding, filter pollutants
from water, and provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat.”
The next phase of the Forsythe debris removal project is
underway in Stafford Township, where significant amounts
of litter and storm wreckage washed over from Long
Beach Island. The operation will continue to move south
to Eagleswood Township.
The debris removal is being funded through the Fish and
Wildlife Service by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Funding for the cleanup will also repair roads and trails
and provide backup power sources at the Forsythe refuge.
For additional information about the project, contact the
Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at 609-652-1665. 
Contractors removing Sandy debris in Brick.
Photo courtesy of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
The Barnegat Bay Partnership  12  Summer 2014
BARNEGAT BAY PARTNERSHIP STAFF
Director – L. Stanton Hales, Jr., Ph.D.
[email protected]
Project Coordinator – Martha Maxwell-Doyle
[email protected]
Program Scientist – Jim Vasslides
[email protected]
Public Outreach Coordinator – Karen Walzer
[email protected]
Program Assistant – Mary Judge
[email protected]
Field and Lab Coordinator – Erin Reilly
[email protected]
Special Events Coordinator – Betsy Hyle
[email protected]
EPA Program Coordinator – Barbara Spinweber
[email protected]
PHYSICAL LOCATION: 117 Haines Road, Toms River, NJ 08753
MAILING ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 2001, Toms River, NJ 08754
PHONE:
(732) 914-8102
Dr. Jon H. Larson
President
The Ocean County Board of
Chosen Freeholders
Freeholder Liaison, Joseph H. Vicari
This document has been funded by the
USEPA under a Clean Water Act grant
agreement to Ocean County College;
information herein has not undergone
USEPA review and may not necessarily
reflect the agency’s official views.